British Gas Extends Its Price Freeze

Good news if you are a British Gas custmer as they are extending their price freeze on the standard variable tariff until August 2017.

In a press release issued today they said :-

Households have been bombarded with media speculation this week that British Gas was about to follow two other large energy suppliers in announcing a price rise. The predictions were startlingly wrong.

In fact, what we’re announcing today is an extension of our price freeze for our standard tariff, right through until 1st August.

Before Christmas, as part of a series of commitments to our customers, we promised to keep the standard tariff unchanged through the winter. Now we want to go further, and give more than five million customers added peace of mind, well into the summer.

Ours has consistently been one of the cheapest standard energy deals available, and the most competitive of the six larger suppliers. It continues to be cheaper than 95% of the market.

So why are we freezing the price, when an imminent and significant rise was so confidently predicted? To differentiate ourselves, retain our customers and win new ones. In a competitive market with over 50 suppliers, we are determined to give our customers great offers and services.

We are able to make this announcement despite increases in external costs, because we have significantly reduced our own costs. British Gas continues to invest in improving customer service and technology, and in leading the nationwide roll-out of smart meters, which will allow customers to understand their energy consumption better, benefit from more accurate billing, and switch more quickly when they want.

We’re delivering the commitments we made at the end of last year. We promised to make all energy deals available to all customers, and to give customers on our standard tariff an annual check to make sure they were on the right tariff. Today’s announcement takes these commitments further.

It’s really important to us to ensure that customers continue to make an active, informed choice over their energy. Over recent months we have been contacting hundreds of thousands of standard tariff customers with a range of new offers that may encourage them to switch. By July we’ll have engaged all British Gas customers on the standard tariff.

In a market where wholesale costs have risen, along with other levies and charges which affect bills, some households understandably prefer to fix their energy prices. With British Gas they can do that — through until March 2019 if they wish.

In December I said we wanted to take tangible action to improve how the energy market works for all our customers. That effort continues: you’ll see us doing even more over the coming months to meet our customers’ needs, to earn their business, and to reward their loyalty.